1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to image forming devices and more particularly to a transfer roll assembly for an electrophotographic image forming device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Color electrophotographic image forming devices such as color laser printers and copiers often utilize an endless belt referred to as an intermediate transfer member trained about various rotatable rolls. The intermediate transfer member is positioned adjacent multiple photoconductive drums. During a print operation, at a series of first transfer nips, each of the photoconductive drums supplies a different color toner (e.g., black, cyan, yellow or magenta) to the surface of the revolving intermediate transfer member in a layered fashion forming a color toner image. The toner image is transferred from the surface of the intermediate transfer member to a media sheet as the sheet moves through a second transfer nip formed between a rotating transfer roll and the intermediate transfer member. The intermediate transfer member is supported against the transfer roll by one or more backup rolls. After the media sheet receives the toner image from the intermediate transfer member, the sheet proceeds to a fuser that bonds the toner image to the media sheet by applying heat and pressure. The relative proportions of each color toner contained in the toner image on the media sheet dictate the final color(s) of the image(s) on the sheet.
Media sheets may tend to catch or jam along the media path inside the image forming device requiring user intervention to clear the media path by removing the jammed sheet(s). For example, media jams may occur between the second transfer nip and the fuser. Some devices include an access door that, when opened, separates the transfer roll from the intermediate transfer member thereby opening the second transfer nip and permitting access to a media sheet jammed between the second transfer nip and the fuser.